Sectionalized portable ice stage



I. A. THORNS SECTIONALIZED PORTABLE ICE STAGE Oct. 28, 1952 Filed Oct.21. 1949 5 ow W m e mm m r .H W f V w Oct. 28, 1952 l. A. THdRNsSECTIONALIZED PORTABLE 1cm STAGE.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Oct. 21; 1949 FIB ' INVENTOR. lQV/N 7. THOENSRTIOQNEVS Patented Oct. 28, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICESECTIONALIZED PORTABLE ICE STAGE Irvin A. Thorns, Los Angeles, Calif.Application October 21, 1949, Serial No. 122,693

1 Claim.

characterized by its simplicity, lightness, inexpensiveness and thepresence of a large number otsmall air spaces in the elements to providegood heat insulating properties.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedstructural element having vthe characteristics mentioned in the abovetwo objects, and which serves to provide a portable ice skating rinkhaving a plurality of similar sections, each of which may be easily andreadily assembled to conduct refrigerant fluid such as Freon gas, liquidethylene glycole, Prestone', etc., through all of the sections.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedprotable ice skating rink comprising a plurality of easily assembledsections, the sections being easily adapted for securingon the outeredge thereof an illuminated rail.

- Still another object of the present invention is to provide animproved portable ice skating rink, characterized by its capacity towithstand heavy loads but which yet has high heat insulating properties.

- Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedportable ice rink construction of-great flexibility which uses readilydismantlable, floor sections, any number of which are adapted to bequickly set up to provide a rink with thejrequired area, the sectionsbeing interchangeable and incorporating the same fluid conduits andfluid inlets and outlets which are readily connected together for theflow of fluid through the assembled sections.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedportable ice rink construction which is capable of producing a sheet ofice on the upper or prime surface thereof within a relatively smalltime, this result being obtainable with my new construction which, dueto the insulating efficiency of the sealed insulated panel provided, aminimum amount of material has to be chilled before theice is formed.

- ing or taking away sections and their associated Another object of thepresent invention is to provide an improved portable ice stage, thesections of which include insulating material having. a large number ofair spaces, with the air spaces; sealed from the atmosphere.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedice stage-having features mentioned in the next preceding object,characterized further by the fact that such insulation is encased withina bottom cover plate and. a top cover plate, with the edges of suchcover plates overlapping, and insulating resilient material be: tweensuch edges to allow thermal-expansion of the cover plates and yetsealing at all times the insulation from the atmosphere.

Still a further object of thepresent invention:

is to provide an improved panel of the type speci fled, which includestwo invertedcover members with their overlapping edges having theresilient insulating material ther-ebetween to seal the in-. teriorspace defined by such cover members, the, interior sealed space beingfilled with heat insulating material for transmitting stresses from onecover plate to the other, and such insulation having a coiled patternextending therethrough with the ends of such coil extending through the,

covers. 1

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedpanel of the type mentioned above, one or more of which may be arrangedas a unit and served by single relatively small compressor units so thatthe size of the ice stage, for example, may be, varied at will byaddpower plants or compressor units.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedpanel of the character described which is portable together with itsassociated insulating material, the insulating material being sealedfrom the atmosphere to prevent the formation of frost withintheinsulating material.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedpanel of the type -described in which adjacent metal faces are -in-,

sulated, one from the other, and serve as a casing for internallydisposed insulation and coils.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedtechnique for produc-' ing panels of the type mentioned in the nextpreceding object, characterizedv by the fact that no welding or rivetingof adjacent face plates to each other is required.

Still another object of the presentinvention...

is to provide an improved. portable icerinkisol constructed that theentire pan produced by asporates an insulated honeycomb construction ofkraft paper for, not only insulating the ice from the floor upon whichthe honeycombed paper rests, but also to transmit all of the stressesfrom the top of the rink to the floor.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel areset forth with particularity in the appended claim. This inventionitself, both as to its organization and manner of operation, togetherwith further objects and advantages thereof, may be best understood byreference to the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an ice skating rink embodying features ofthe present invention,

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on a line corresponding to the line22 of Figure 3, but of an intermediate section of the ice skating rinkshown.

in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 3+3 ofFigure 1', and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a portion of one of the rink sectionsshown in Figure 1.

While specific reference is made herein to a portable ice rinkconstruction, it will become apparent that the individual sections ofsuch rink, described hereinafter, may find utility in other environmentssuch as in refrigerated railroad cars, trucks and other installationswherein such sections may be used either as floor, wall or ceilingelements to heat or cool the adjacent space, depending upon whether ornot heating fluid or cooling fluid is pumped through the conduits ofsuch sections.

Referring to the specific construction shown in the drawings, the icerink shown therein includes, in Figure 1, the four intermediate sectionsI0 and opposite end sections II, l2 which define a rectangular area ofdifferent dimensions, depending upon the number of such intermediatesections Ifl. The outer periphery of the area thus defined is enclosedby the rails I i, I5, I6 and I! which are bolted to adjacent sectionsand to each other at their adjoining ends to press the sections I0, IIand I2 together. Each one of the sections I0, I I and I2 have a fluidcon duit I8 extending therethrough, as shown in Figure 2. The fluidconduit I8, adapted for the passage of dried cold gas therethrough,includes two inlet openings I9, 23 and a single outlet opening 2|. I

.The inlet openings I9, 20 are connected respectively through pipes 23,24 to the valve 25, the inlet opening of which is connected to the inletpipe 29 through the serially connected drier and valve 3|. Theoutlet'pipe 2|, on the other hand, is connected to the valve 32a and theoutlet manifold 33.

I It is noted that the conduit I8 takes a serpentine, sinuous paththrough the section and extends from the inlet opening I9, first to theleft of the section Ill and then generally to the right of the section,taking 15 passes in all before the fluid leaves the outlet 2 I. It, isnoted further that the outlet 2| serves as ajoint outlet for the fluidentering the inlet openings I9, 28.

Each of these sections it are approximately 42 /2 inches wide by 3inches thick and approximately 20 /2 feet long, so that a portable icestage having an area of approximately 20 feet by 21 feet may be formedby assembling six sections.

The refrigerant conduit I3 is supported on a paper honeycombconstruction 32 and is in heat conducting relationship through thethermal mastic metallic material 3li with the upper aluminum plate orpan 35, upon which water is initially sprayed to produce ice.

The honeycombed paper construction 32 preferably consists of an expandedkraft paper honeycomb to which is bonded an aluminum floor plate 36adapted to rest directly on the wooden fioor or other type of floor uponwhich the ice rink is disposed, with closed air spaces provided by thehoneycomb construction separating the floor plate 36 from the pan 35,the upper exposed surface of the pan 35 constituting the prime surface.These honeycomb paper panels 32 are routed out as indicated at 38 and 39to accommodate the refrigerant tubes I8. Preferably, such compositepanels are assembled in the following manner, first, the honeycomb panelis routed as indicated at 38 and 39 in Figure 3,.to accommodate thetubes IB, .the routing being suniciently deep so that the upper surfaceof the later inserted refrigerant tube 8 is practically flush with theupper surface of the honeycomb construction 33, but not too deep toprevent the weight 'of the tubes I8 from being transmitted directly tothe paper honeycombed construction. After this routing operation bothsides of the honeycombed material is coated with glue and the routedsideis covered with fabric such as cheesecloth 43. Then this cheesecloth iscoated with glue. Thereafter the adjacent sides of the pan 35 and fiocrplate 35 are each glued. All glued surfacesare then cured by subjectingthem to a temperature of 220 F. for a period of approximately one hour.After this curing process the tube I8, Welded to form the pattern shownin Figure 2, is laid in the routed out portions indicated at 38 and 39in Figure 3, and on top of the previously glued cheesecloth 4U.

It is noted at this time that the pan 35 and floor plate 36 each havetheir four edges bent upwardly in a direction perpendicular to theirplates to form small shallow dished structures, the walls of the pan 36having the general reference numeral 36A, and the walls of the member35-having the reference numeral 35A. I

Continuing, the pan 35 and floor plate36 are then placed in positionwith the walls 36A disposed within and separated from the outer walls35A along the perimeter. of'the assembly. While in this position athermal mastic insulating cement I0, such as Prestite, is pressedbetween the spaced walls 35A, 36A and the entire assembly is thensubjected to a temperature of approximately BOOF. for twentyminutes,while forces are being exerted on the honeycomb material 32 by applyingforce between the pan 35 and floor plate 36. In this process thePrestite material I0 is hardened and provides a heat insulation barrierbetween the bottom plate 36 and top plate 35 along the perimeter of thesection. This material it! serves also to bond the members 35, 36' oneto the other. Further, these two sections 35, 36, the interior of whichis sealed fromthe atmosphere by the thermal mastic cement 10, is undersubatmospheric pressures, since, during the aforementioned processwherein the assembly'is' maintained at 300 F., some of the airoriginally lif. outtoffthe interior; subsequently, when the asseinblyhascooled theair contracts to produce the subatmosphericf: pressure;within the sealed section; jjj; Thereafter the j section is disposed ina position inverted witli'respect to'the' position shown iri"l-"igure2,"and'thermal mastic material 34 is This'therm'al mastic material 34serves not only to provide a good heat path from the coil l8 to the topplate 35, but is disposed between the pipe ends [9, 20 and 2|, on theone hand, and between the adjacent glued cheesecloth 40, on the otherhand,'to thereby seal the space surrounding the coil I8 from theatmosphere. 6

The individual sections In thus made may be used as shown in Figure l,or may be used to line the walls 'or ceiling of an enclosure for heatingor cooling the! same as desired. One advantageof this particularconstruction is that the inlet and outlet openings for each section areboth on 'one end of'th'e 'section,"so that allof the plumbing andpipefitting maybe accomplished at one end of the assembled sections, leavingthe other end entirely free 'of pipes'extending therefrom.

,In" assembling the sections l0, they are laid side by side in abutment,and the joint between adjacent sections is first sealed with a thermalmastic cement 63 to make the butt joints watertight. The cracksbetweensuch adjacent sections interior of the as semblyexpands and movesrink, as the case may begand is bolted'or fes are sealed, refrigerant ispassed through the as sembled sections to cool the same, andsimultaneously water is sprayed on top of the pan 35 to produce thedesired layer of ice on top of the pan.

Desirably, the individual sections In and end sections H and 12 areclamped together by the rink rail members l4, l5, l6 and i1.

As shown in Figure 3, the rink rail member i1 is bolted to the endsection II by means of bolts 45 which extend through the outer skirt'4'! of the rail l1 and are threaded into nuts welded to the downwardlyextending apron portion 35A of the pan 35, with resilient material suchas rubber 46 disposed between the aprons 35A and 41, In similar fashion,the opposite r-ail member I5 is bolted at specified points along theside of the opposite end section [2. Further, in similar manner, the endrails l4 and I6, of the same physical dimensions and construction as therails l5 and II, are bolted to the ends of each of the intermediatesections Ill as well as the respective ends of the end sections II andI2, with similar resilient material 46 disposed between such sectionsand the corresponding rails l4, it. These rails l4, I5, [6 and I1,constructed as shown in Figure 2, are adapted to rest on the adjacentend sections and are made hollow to incorporate lighting tubes 50 forpurposes of illumination.

Thus, lights 50 of the tubular type may either be of the incandescent orfluorescent type, energized in conventional manner, with their lon-.

gitudin-al axes extending parallel to the longitudinal axes of the railsand being protected by a plastic transparent bendable cover member 5|,the opposite side edges of which may be bent and inserted into thesockets or grooves HEB, 11C in the rail structure.

The rail itself includes also a wooden beam 54 extending the full widthor length of the desired tened by other means to the skirt member-41which is covered with a decorative stainless steel or aluminum coversheet 52, having onefof its ends adapted to resiliently encompassthe'lovver end of the skirt member 41, and its upper end fabricated toform the socket NB. This decorative cover member '52 may be bolted tothe end section ll by the bolts'45. Also 'adecorative material such asstainless steel or polished aluminurnis theoover' member 56, the lowerendof which partially encircles the'wooden' beam Bi disposedbetweensuch*beam"-54' ande t upper end of such de'c the "-pan m orativecover 56 being fabricated to-provide the aforementioned socket} orgroove llQf receiving the transparent cover member 5|.

Preferably, the junction poin watertight by placing a" th-ermalmasticcement 62' therebetweengin the same manner as is the thermal masticcement 63 disposed over" the joints between adjacent sections I0, H and12."

It is' observed inFig'ure 1 that' -there is provideda pairofrefrig'erant'inlet manifolds 29 and a pair of refrigerant outletlines"33;'fand these lines may be coupled through flexible rubber hosefittings to the refrigerant equipment fri'gerated 'at the same" time.

frigerant pipes, it is possible to use, for'theintended purpose ofmaintaining ice on the com-= plete rink, a "relativelysmall capacityinexpen-- sive refrigerating equipment which may be alternately valvedto one pair of pipes 29, 33 and then to the other pipes 29, 33'.

Alternatively, there may be a relatively small machine providedconnected to one pair of lines 29, 33, and a second relatively smallmachine connected to the other pair of lines 29, 33. By thus providingtwo refrigerant machines instead of one refrigerant machine, therefrigerant units are relatively small and conveniently portable, andprovide a flexible arrangement in which either half or both halves ofthe rink may be refrigerated.

It is apparent that once the equipment is assembled, as described above,it may be conveniently and quickly disassembled by removing the bolts45, uncoupling the various pipe fittings and simply moving the sectionsIII, II and I2 apart one from the other, breaking the seal provided bythe thermal mastic cements 62, 63.

Although I prefer, as described hereinabove, to utilize form fittingcheesecloth between the top plate 35 and honeycomb material 32, as amodification such cheesecloth may, in fact, be substituted by a metalsheet of corrugated appearance, shaped in the form of the cheesecloth 40shown in Figure 2, to serve in like manner as a sealing member for theentire upper surface of the honeycomb material 32.

'It is noted that all of the stress is transmitted from the top plate 35to the bottom plate 36 through insulation 32.

It is observed further that the thermal mastic insulating material 16filling the space between adjacent side walls of the pans 35, 36 allows.rel-ative movement of such elements without breaking the sealtherebetween when, for example, the pan 35 is lowered in temperaturewith respect to the floor plate or pan 36. In

t' or the metal cov r plate 56- with the pan member 35i s made otherwords; the thermal mastic cement 10 pro-f vides a good seal for thespace defined Within the pans 35, -36 and yet allows unequal thermalexpansion between such elements 35, 36. Further, sinc e the interiorspace between pans 35, 36-is below atmospheric pressure,,for reasonsdescribed above, the pans 35, 36 tend to move towards, one another, andare held together without rivets or welding therebetween.

.Although I prefer by far to utilize the honeycomb material 32 as theinsulation medium and the means whereby forces are transferred: from thetop plate 35 to bottom plate 36, other insulating materials may besubstituted therefor such as, for example and not as a limitation;Celotex, Styrofoam, Temlok, Firtex, cellular rubber board, corkinsulating board. I

While the particular embodiments of the present invention havebeen shownand described, it will be-obvious to those skilled in the art thatchanges and modifications may be made without departing from thisinvention in its broader aspects and,therefore, theaim in the appendedclaim is tocover all such changes and modifications as fallwithin thetrue spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

In a portable rink construction of the character described, comprising:a plurality of sections disposed in side by side relationship, each ofsaid sections comprising a honeycombed paper parallelepiped with airspaces extending the full thicknessthereof, a metallic pan on one sideand a floor plate on the other side of said parallelepiped to close offsaid air spaces, said honeycombed paper being efiective to transmitforces directly, from said pan to said floor plate, ;a

thermal mastic cement disposed over saidjoint to seal the spaceotherwise present between adjacent sections, a rail extending along theperimeter of said sections and being releasably fastened to'. the outersides of the end-sections and to eachone of the adjacent ends of thesections, and a thermal mastic cement between said rail and the adjacentpan to seal the junction therebetween against Water leakage.

IRVIN A. THO RNS,

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,746,235 Barker Feb. 11, 19301,749,159 Respess Mar. 4, 1930v 1,846,608 Phelps Feb. 23, 1932 2,270,745Todd Jan. 20, 1942 2,382,340 Smith Aug. 14, 1945 2,447,272 Parkes Aug.17, 1948 2,469,021 Vetter May 3, 1949 2,486,822 Cameron Nov. 1,19492,512,875 Reynolds June 27, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date289,924 Great Britain Apr. 30, 1928'

